Australia edges England for team triathlon gold as team sets sights on Olympic title

HAVING secured the 2017 world and now 2018 Commonwealth titles, Jake Birtwhistle has declared Australia the new standard-bearer for mixed team relay after a dominant gold medal display.

JAKE Birtwhistle has declared Australia the new standard-bearer for mixed team relay after a dominant gold medal display.

Having secured the 2017 world and now 2018 Commonwealth titles their intention is to hold the treble by winning at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Birtwhistle’s 250m swim, 7km bike and 1.5km run became an extended lap of honour over land and sea before waving the Australian flag down the finishing shoot before celebrating effusively with teammates Matt Hauser, Ashleigh Gentle and Gillian Backhouse.

The Tasmanian, who won silver in the individual race, now wants to ensure their time at the top is not short lived.

“We are the current world champions and now we have just won the Commonwealth Games,” Birtwhistle said.

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Jacob Birtwhistle of Australia celebrates with team mates

“At this stage this is our event, it’s our to lose. There are plenty more athletes who weren’t racing today that were class and given that opportunity will race well for Australia. We are in a good position moving forward with the mixed team.”

Triathlon Australia national performance director Justin Drew said the team would leave satisfied with one gold, three silver and two bronze medals across the triathlon and paratriathlon categories.

With the mixed relay to be held over the same format in Tokyo, Drew said winning an Olympic medal was the next step the team needed to take.

“It’s certainly a goal we won’t shy away from,” Drew said.

“To win a world championship and to back it up with Commonwealth gold in a highly competitive and world class field is very satisfying.”

Gentle flipped the script on her Commonwealth Games campaign to run the mixed relay team to the win.

Australia’s relay team with their golds

Gentle’s famous final leg deserted her in the individual event where the gold medal contender finished fifth but the Gold Coaster secured her redemption on Saturday, breaking the race wide open as the third starter before Birtwhistle cruised to victory ahead of the Poms and New Zealand.

“Fifth looking back I should have been pretty happy but I was disappointed not to be able to run for that bronze medal,” Gentle said.

“I was so grateful to have the opportunity to redeem myself and really wanted to bring everything I could for the team and I’m so relieved as a collective group we pulled together and got the gold.

“My run on Thursday was so disappointing, I just felt as though I wasn’t really myself, I just had to look at that and think ‘That happened, let it go’.

“I know that I am better than what I did on Thursday, I just had to focus on that and really back myself to run well.”

Originally published as Australia edges England for team triathlon gold as team sets sights on Olympic title